This invention relates to a safety garment and more particularly to a vest to be worn by a child which is securely attached to another person such as an adult.
Children under two years of age are permitted to travel on commercial airliners without purchasing a seat so long as they are on the lap of a parent or other adult. Children over two years of age must purchase a seat but nonetheless often spend time during a lengthy flight on a parent's lap. While the parent will be restrained by a seat belt upon take-off and landing and at other times such as during periods of turbulence, a child in a parent's lap is restrained only by the parent's arms.
It is well documented that commercial airliners may be subjected to large vertical accelerations often caused by severe turbulence with little or no forewarning. Such turbulence may cause the airplane to accelerate downwardly at a high rate. Objects, including passengers, which are unrestrained may suffer an impact with the ceiling of the passenger cabin. For example, in December 1997 a commercial airliner bound for Hawaii from Japan encountered sudden turbulence while flying over the Pacific Ocean at 33,000 feet. As passengers were preparing to eat a meal the plane suddenly descended. Unrestrained objects hit the ceiling including one woman who died of her injuries and sixty others who were injured.
It is highly likely that had there been a child sitting on a parent's lap during this tragic event, the child would have been ripped from the parent's arms and severely injured if not killed. The present invention provides a secure attachment of a child to a parent or other adult.